Steam has been considered for use as a power source for motors or engines because of the torque that may be developed, and there have been many attempts to use a steam engine as a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine as the power plant for vehicle propulsion or the driving source for electrical power generation. One of the most widely recognized steam propelled vehicles is the Stanley Steamer. Various short comings and disadvantages of the steam engines developed over the years such as the size of a boiler to produce steam, the heat source to create steam from the water, onboard water storage, water usage and replenishment due to leakage and evaporation, inability to mechanically couple the steam engine to a transmission to drive the wheels of the vehicle or rotate the shaft of an electrical generator are but a few of the reasons the steam engine has not become a viable alternative to internal combustion engines. The reader is referred to an article entitled “A Fresh View Of The Steam Car For Today” authored by James D. Crank and forming a part hereof as attachment A, which is incorporated herein by reference for additional commentary as to why the steam engine has not become a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine.
Another general drawback of steam or vapor systems is the inefficiency that results in the cycle due to heat losses as the vapor condenses such as for example in the Rankine steam cycle and is returned to the boiler as liquid to be reheated to vapor to complete the cycle. It has been proposed to increase the thermal efficiency of such systems by recirculating, repressurizing and reheating effluent steam for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,185 in which extraction steam is taken at various pressures and sequentially charged into closed path conveyor compartments to progressively increase the pressure of the steam within the compartments. The highest pressure stage displaces the steam from the compartments through a reheater and back to an injection station at the turbine. Although thermal efficiency is improved somewhat in that more heat is extracted in a cycle the steam torque is sequentially diminished. Accordingly, the proposed method and apparatus disclosed n U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,185 does not provide a satisfactory solution to overcome the limitations and shortcomings of known steam engines.
What is needed, therefore, is a system that provides the torque of steam and overcomes the shortcomings and disadvantages of known steam engines and systems.